• Dane Eagle is departing as the Secretary of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity
• Eagle made the announcement in a resignation letter to DeSantis on Monday
• A former Majority Leader in the House, Eagle joined the administration in 2020

Governor Ron DeSantis will begin his second term without Secretary of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) Dane Eagle after he announced his resignation on Monday.

Eagle, a former House Republican Leader, sent a resignation letter to DeSantis today, calling his time as the head of DEO an “honor of a lifetime.”

“This letter serves as notice of my resignation as Secretary of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity effective December 30, 2022,” Eagle said in the letter. “Serving in your administration has been the honor of a lifetime, and I am deeply grateful for this opportunity. At this point in my life, however, my responsibility to my growing family is of the utmost importance.”

Eagle was elected in 2012 to serve House District 77 in the Florida House. During his time in the legislature, he also served as the House Majority Leader, where he was responsible for leading the Republican Caucus.

DeSantis tapped Eagle to replace former Executive Director Ken Lawson in Sept. 2020.

Under Eagle’s guidance, the DEO was on the frontlines in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Eagle addressed the difficulty of the pandemic in today’s letter, praising DeSantis’ leadership and policies which rejected lockdowns and helped keep Florida afloat.

“Under your leadership and Freedom First policies, Florida is a model for the nation as individuals and businesses flock to our state in record numbers. When other states were locking down, you lifted people up, and as a result, Florida’s economy is beyond resilient, leading the nation by virtually every measure,” Eagle added. “Our historically low unemployment rate of 2.7% is an entire point below the national rate of 3.7% and has remained below the national rate for 23 consecutive months. Florida has created jobs for 30 consecutive months and has seen over 1.5 million new business formations since January 2020, more than any other state in the nation.

“When I joined your administration in September 2020, that state’s unemployment rate was 8.7%, which was quickly rebounding from the 13.9% rate a few months earlier due to the global pandemic. These economic headwinds also contributed to a growing crisis with the state’s reemployment assistance system operated by DEO, requiring an all-hands-on deck effort to secure funding to modernize the system and swiftly help hard-working Floridians get back on their feet,” he continued.

Eagle also highlighted the multiple disasters that he oversaw, touting the work DeSantis and his team did to help Floridians recover.

“Additionally, we have responded to multiple disasters, in luding Hurricane Ian which devastated my home community, and awarded over a billion dollars in long-term disaster recovery funds to homeowners and communities across Florida,” Eagle said. “We led the nation in fully obligating over half-a-billion dollars to assist homeowners and prevent foreclosures in record time, we awarded bonus payments to over two hundred thousand first responders and law enforcement officers, and we announced over a hundred million dollars for infrastructure and workforce development projects across the state, which will help create countless jobs to support our growing economy.”

Following the announcement, DeSantis thanked Eagle for his service.

“Thank you, Secretary @DaneEagle, for your outstanding service to Florida’s businesses and workforce,” he said on Twitter. “Under your leadership at @FLDEO, you helped to strengthen our communities and nation-leading economy. We wish you the best in your next endeavors.”

Eagle graduated with honors from Bishop Verot High School where he served as Class President and played football. He attended Florida Gulf Coast University before graduating from the University of Florida, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Economics.

His last day at DEO will be Dec. 30.